Aug 12 2011

A Stroll Through Smalbany (Is That How You Spell It?)

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I don’t like to slag off Albany – mostly because it’s just too easy. True, it’s not often that I enjoy and appreciate living here, but every once in a while – say on a sunny August day when the breeze is cool and the sky is blue – I think it’s one of the nicest places to be.

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On Thursday a small farmer’s market takes up Maiden Lane, where gigantic zucchini and squash can be had for 75 cents a pop. For those of us with more refined tastes (as in sugar) there are cookies and cakes and pies as well.

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On the corner is the bank that holds my ATM. Why is the best air conditioning always found in old banks?

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I don’t even want to know the sort of things that go on outside of Jillian’s to warrant this new sign. Welcome to Pearl Street, kids.

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Thanks to a random Tweet by @JustKristi, I was hankering for a burrito from Burrito Joe’s.

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With all due respect to Matt, I think Joe has a pretty big one too.

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As I made my way back to the office I realized that I’ve been working for the state of New York for ten years come the end of the month. (And so goes the brief moment of happiness found in downtown Albany. That’s the thing about this city – nothing good lasts. Except for Lodge’s – but I guess that only serves to prove my point.)


Jun 3 2011

Torn Between Two Lovers

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For the past few years I have faithfully attended Albany’s Gay Pride Celebration. Granted, as it usually falls on the hottest and most humid day of the year, I don’t always stay very long, but Andy and I usually get to see the parade and make a quick trip past the tent tables. This time around, I’m stepping out on Albany.

Next week Albany will celebrate this year’s Pride Festival, but there’s a good chance I won’t be there, as I have plans in Boston (I’m having a small cocktail gathering for some dear friends). As luck would have it, (or not have it as the years have proven), Boston’s Pride Celebration coincides with Albany’s, almost to the day (I think theirs is on Saturday). Which means I may be at Boston Pride this year, marking a return to the place where I first went to a Gay Pride Celebration.

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It was in the 90’s, and though openly gay for a while, I hadn’t brought myself to attend a Pride Parade. I thought I was above and beyond it. I thought it didn’t matter. I thought it was a silly exercise that had less and less meaning as the years went on. I was wrong on all accounts.

As I stood there watching the parade go by, seeing gay people and their families and friends openly and proudly celebrating who they were, I became incredibly moved. It didn’t matter that we were finally being recognized as equal human beings – it was a commemoration of all that we had come from, all that we had fought for, and all that there was still left to do.

Even if and when we have full equality, there will still be a reason and a meaning to a Gay Pride Parade. Because no matter what happens, no matter how good it may get, we must always remember.

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Jun 3 2011

A 1st Friday Filled with Pride

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Today from 5 to 9 PM I’ll be hosting 1st Friday at the Romaine Brooks Gallery (sorry for the short notice – blame it on vacation back-up). The featured exhibition is the annual Pride Show – a group show featuring various artists – and all of them are pretty impressive. Here’s the roster:

Sebastien Barre
Bennett Campbell
Kevin Miller
Antoine Rivera
Thomasa Dwyer Nielsen
John J. Bosko

This is one of my favorite Pride Shows. Some years we’re so low on entries I have to come up with creative ways to fill the space, but this time we had just enough work for a great show. Be sure to check out the complete line-up of Albany Pride Events here.


Mar 13 2011

My First (and Last) St. Patrick’s Day Parade – 2

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After walking what seemed like a mile, we made it to the crux of Waterworks and Rocks. At the former, the amazing Pete Agostinello was behind the bar and handling all the drunkenness with pluck and aplomb (and a jaunty little hat). You know you want a back view of the… T-shirt.

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From here on out the memory stars to blur a bit…

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Thank God there were pictures to capture all of the loveliness.

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(This is the first and only photo of me that will be posted here. Andy got a dozen or so shots when he picked me up – literally - but they will never see the light of day.)

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And now for a bunch of people I don’t even know… starting with these two girls in what I can only hope is the men’s room… otherwise I was the one in the wrong place…

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(I also hope that the one on the right is not pregnant and drinking what is clearly NOT just Poland Spring water.)

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As cloudy as my mind was, it was about this time (as this… person stood before me) that I promised to enjoy the rest of the St. Patrick’s festivities as much as possible, for this would be my last…

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And I think she cemented the deal.


Feb 16 2011

A New Gallery Season (Or Two)

2011 Exhibition Schedule

As the Manager of the Romaine Brooks Gallery, I am pleased and proud to post the Exhibition Schedule for the Spring and Summer Seasons. Please join us each and every 1st Friday at the Pride Center of the Capital Region. The upcoming months will feature artwork ranging from drawings to photographs to paintings – encompassing subjects from landscapes and nature to superheroes and the human body. With delicious desserts from Scratch Bakery, 1st Friday at the Gallery is a great way to see some art and kick off the weekend in style.


Feb 3 2011

1st Friday at the Pride Center

This marks the first 1st Friday since the Pride Center was re-christened with its new moniker, and we’ll be having a spectacular exhibition by Thomasa Nielsen. Please stop by from 5 to 9 PM and say hello! Here’s the profile I wrote on the artist and her show.

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Romaine Brooks Gallery Artist Profile: Thomasa Nielsen, February 2011
One has to admire a woman who proudly cultivates a “penile colony.” Such is the term Thomasa Nielsen uses for her collection of penis portraits, some of which will be on display at her solo exhibition, “Perception and Perspective: The Penile Colony and Other Stories” for the month of February 2011 at the Romaine Brooks Gallery. Like much of her art, Nielsen offers challenges to both viewers and herself, starting with the genesis of how she came to paint an assortment of phalluses.

“My penile colony series took a while in the percolating,” she begins. “A number of years ago an intimate dialogue with a female friend regarding her views on male anatomy inspired a lot of thoughts. (She talked a lot about having sex, but confessed to finding male genitalia ugly. I had a hard time understanding this, it didn’t make any sense to me… it felt like she was missing something crucial.) I’ve been someone who has had a problem with double standards, so eventually the Penile Colony developed out of an appreciation for male anatomy and a desire to see more male nudes and odalisques.”

Nielsen’s artistic style has been influenced by a wide range of artists, and when she recites her litany of favorite contemporaries, the excitement and inspiration she feels are palpable: “I love Jenny Saville, Lucien Freud, Ron Muecks, John Currin and Evan Penny. I love the visceral quality of Saville’s painting, the intensity of her focus, and her ability to confront uncomfortable subjects. Penny’s figurative sculptures are fascinating, and, depending on the viewpoint, they are either grossly-distorted or in perfect perspective. Mueck’s larger than life sculptures are uncomfortable to look at, yet also irresistibly riveting in a voyeuristic way. His pieces are like looking at hidden secrets, parts of ourselves that sometimes we prefer not to see. Currin’s older work involves massive body distortions. I believe that distortions like his help us to see things differently.”

Those varying shifts in perspective also apply to the way we view ourselves, and Nielsen works to bring out the hidden beauty she finds inherent in everyone. “I see how distortedly people see themselves and others and that’s a running theme in my figurative work,” she explains. “I think there’s beauty in all of us… often in those parts that we most dislike. At the same time I have a tendency to see things attractive that others find ugly or unattractive.”

Along those unconventional lines, her work has been said to carry a darkness to it, at odds with her cheery disposition and readiness to laugh. Nielsen herself doesn’t find her work dark, but she is always open to the views of others. According to her, “I don’t really see that darkness in my work. Another person told me that my distortions made my people ugly. I find them beautiful. So it’s all about our own perspective and perception of things… There are deliberate distortions in all the pieces in this show. Some are blatantly obvious, while others are subtle.”

These are bold paintings, in bold colors, and they are powerful enough to hold up in any setting. Like their creator, the images Nielsen produces are both strong and gregarious, delighting in their rich color, and dancing with verve. They are a celebration of life and all of its garish beauty, a bright beacon of one woman’s passion and artistic play.

“Color, pattern and mark-making are crucial components threading though all my work. I use arbitrary color frequently. I like bold, intense color. I’m passionate about life, what I do, what I involve myself with. I like colors that reflect that intensity and passion.”

The passion of a true artist often bumps up against the constraints of time and reality, and real life has a way of taking over the most disciplined and artistic among us. Familial roles and obligations sometimes take precedence over the work, and Nielsen had to find that balance over the years as a wife, mother, and widow. Her journey through raising a family and dealing with the loss of her husband will reverberate with many viewers, whether or not they’re artists as well.

“As a woman and mother I found that when I had young children I could only create things that were easily put down and picked up, so I made more craft-type pieces. When my children hit a certain age I found I could disappear into the studio for longer intervals and so then I was able to resume painting as my primary medium. (I needed bigger blocks of time to paint effectively.) How much I produce is a direct reflection of how many people there are and how they are integrated in my personal life. When my husband died I found I couldn’t paint for about six months and when I started back it was very hard to find focus with what I did. My children are now young adults. I’m not personally involved with anyone. I have the time to immerse myself with my work. I can disappear for a whole day at a time into my studio.”

It is a well-earned luxury that most artists would envy, and that Nielsen finds elemental and essential. “I think there are different purposes for art…to tell a story…to make you think… to make you feel… to show… to open your eyes. I hope that my art manages to do some portion of that. On another level, the process of creating is integral to whom I am. I view it as a “have-to”, much like air, water, food, and shelter is crucial to survive.”

Such is the drive of any artist – the sense that creation is not a choice, not a preference, but an integral part of survival. It’s the sort of passion that results in work like Hegemony – the piece of which Nielsen is currently most enamored, and one of the works to be featured in her February exhibition. She explains the thrust of this show as a simple matter of perspective.

““The Penile Colony” is a play on Kafka’s The Penal Colony and the obviousness of the subject matter. Most of my figurative works are in part stories that reflect how the subject matter and the artist view the subject matter. Usually what is distorted in the piece is something the subject finds ugly or unattractive about themselves. Some of the pieces are about things that the viewer might find uninspiring or unattractive, but that I find beautiful. So the whole show is really about perception and perspective.”

And penises – don’t forget the penises.

Thomasa Nielsen will be presenting her exhibition, “Perception and Perspective: The Penile Colony and Other Stories”, at the Romaine Brooks Gallery on Friday, February 4, 2011 from 5 to 9 PM as part of Albany’s 1st Friday Events. The Romaine Brooks Gallery is located on the third floor of the Pride Center at 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.


Jan 12 2011

Name This Bird

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The Lark Street BID is holding a little name-that-lark contest for its feathered mascot above. Personally, I think it should be “Petula Lark”, and if you agree please go to this page and vote on the right side. It’s a tight race, with only one day to go.